Menudo
March 3rd, 2007, 09:34 PM
Hampton fab five thinking big
Jeff Legwold
In the pile of information Hampton University has available to prospective students, there is an item that offers the school "is a place that values scholarship, talents and achievement."
Well, the NFL would certainly agree.
Because five of the university's roughly 5,700 students were invited to the NFL's scouting combine last weekend. Five players from Hampton's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship team were roaming the halls of the RCA Dome with college football's elite.
That was more players invited from one school than Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Southern California, Syracuse, UCLA, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
In fact, it is believed to be the most players any Division I-AA program has had invited to the same combine.
"Guess the rating system is still kind of messed up," Hampton linebacker Justin Durant said. "I take a whole lot of pride in it. . . . We just wanted to come and show there's a reason there's a lot of Hampton guys."
Durant, cornerback Travarous Bain, running back Alonzo Coleman, receiver Onrea Jones and receiver Marquay McDaniel were the Pirates' fab five in Indianapolis.
Durant, who played the middle for the Pirates and projects to be a middle linebacker in the NFL, might be the most intriguing prospect in the group. A bright, hard-nosed player with plenty of speed (he ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash in Indianapolis), Durant is also tough-minded.
This is, after all, a player who had no Division I-A offers when he came out of Wilson High School in Florence, S.C., and found himself exchanging tales with "all the guys I watched on TV" this past week.
"I think there were . . . three of us that didn't have any (Division I-A) offers coming out, so we had no choice but to go where we went," Durant said. "Ultimately we ended up here. . . . We had to roll with the punches. I don't know if we necessarily made it easier for other guys. But I think we opened some eyes."
Coleman, who ran 4.49 seconds in the 40, had four 1,000-yard rushing seasons for the Pirates. He was a player Durant said was "probably the best running back I faced in college," and Bain was a transfer from the University of Miami, where he played sparingly for one season.
Bain said he believed the other four Hampton players also could have played for the Hurricanes.
Jeff Legwold
In the pile of information Hampton University has available to prospective students, there is an item that offers the school "is a place that values scholarship, talents and achievement."
Well, the NFL would certainly agree.
Because five of the university's roughly 5,700 students were invited to the NFL's scouting combine last weekend. Five players from Hampton's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship team were roaming the halls of the RCA Dome with college football's elite.
That was more players invited from one school than Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Southern California, Syracuse, UCLA, Virginia, Washington, Washington State, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
In fact, it is believed to be the most players any Division I-AA program has had invited to the same combine.
"Guess the rating system is still kind of messed up," Hampton linebacker Justin Durant said. "I take a whole lot of pride in it. . . . We just wanted to come and show there's a reason there's a lot of Hampton guys."
Durant, cornerback Travarous Bain, running back Alonzo Coleman, receiver Onrea Jones and receiver Marquay McDaniel were the Pirates' fab five in Indianapolis.
Durant, who played the middle for the Pirates and projects to be a middle linebacker in the NFL, might be the most intriguing prospect in the group. A bright, hard-nosed player with plenty of speed (he ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash in Indianapolis), Durant is also tough-minded.
This is, after all, a player who had no Division I-A offers when he came out of Wilson High School in Florence, S.C., and found himself exchanging tales with "all the guys I watched on TV" this past week.
"I think there were . . . three of us that didn't have any (Division I-A) offers coming out, so we had no choice but to go where we went," Durant said. "Ultimately we ended up here. . . . We had to roll with the punches. I don't know if we necessarily made it easier for other guys. But I think we opened some eyes."
Coleman, who ran 4.49 seconds in the 40, had four 1,000-yard rushing seasons for the Pirates. He was a player Durant said was "probably the best running back I faced in college," and Bain was a transfer from the University of Miami, where he played sparingly for one season.
Bain said he believed the other four Hampton players also could have played for the Hurricanes.